


What we enjoys to eat and what we do not

by Rogercat



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Brothers, Elves, Family, First Age, Food Issues, Foster Care, Gen, Noldor - Freeform, Rivendell | Imladris, Third Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 00:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14032332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Maglor finds that one of his foster sons seems to not like fish





	What we enjoys to eat and what we do not

Not courting the first difficult weeks when the boys had been frightened and done their best on several escape attempts, Maglor thought that things finally was getting better. True, Amon Ereb might not the best place to raise children, but he and Maedhros was familiar with possible hiding places in the fortress. 

“Boys, it is time for dinner.”      

 

They had been reading some books in the great hall close to the fireplaces for warmth, and now moved over to the tables where the dinner was being served. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

In general, there was no fuss about the food from neither Elrond or Elros, it had been expected that it could have been some trouble over the sudden change in food, given how different Amon Ereb was from Sirion.

 

“Elrond, what is it?” Maglor asked at noting something unusual halfway through the meal. 

 

The more quiet twin had eaten nearly all on his plate, but seemed to hesitate when it came to the fish he still had not touched. Elros, on the other hand, had eaten his whole meal down to the last crumble. 

 

“It should not be anything wrong with the fish, my lords, neither undercooked or too dry,” the female cook told them nervously as Elrond made no move to eat. 

 

“Elrond, is it because it is a different fish than what you were used to?” 

 

The boy shaked on his head, and Maedhros, who sat beside Elrond, lowered his head to try and catch any of the mumbling the six-year-old was doing. If he heard correct, it seemed like the boy had some bad memory related to eating fish.  

 

By now, Elrond was nearly crying in fear of that he would be forced to eat the fish after all. Taking the attention off him with a random question to the others, Maedhros pretended to not see Elrond sneak down the piece of fish to one of the cats below the dinner table, the few dogs were not allowed into the dining area or kitchen after all.

 

Once it was time for bed and him to tuck them in for the night, Maglor carefully asked Elros if he knew the reason to why Elrond had refused to eat the fish at dinner. As it was, he did not want to betray his twin. Pretending to give up any more questions, the second son of Fëanor bid his wards good night.    

 

Maglor and Maedhros had their own bed chambers not too far from the one where the boys slept, and the oldest Fëanorian had been kept up by some paperwork, he needed to pass by their chamber. And since Maglor had left the door slightly open in order to hear them from his chamber in case one of them had a nightmare and needed comfort, Maedhros heard the twins speak in hushed whispers:

 

“I think Maglor should know that your dislike of fish comes from that you happened to get a fishbone in the throat when we were younger.” 

 

Elros, he had never really mastered the art of whispering low enough. Many times that was the reason to their new guardians finding out about a future prank or escape attempt. 

 

“No, they are just gonna be like Nanaeth and insist on that I have to eat the fish before leaving the table!” 

 

Well, that explained his terrified reaction at dinner, he must have expected to be scolded for refusing to eat and not be allowed to leave before the plate was clean. Maedhros took a look inside the chamber, silently telling the twins that they should be sleeping. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

As Maglor met his brother early in the kitchen the next morning, Maedhros told him what he had overheard the twins whisper about. 

 

“That could be a problem...he must be scared for the fish bones even now. But even if we removes all the small bones, it is not going to look very tempting to eat…”

 

Suddenly, a old memory surfaced in Maedhros' mind. A memory of how Nerdanel had gotten tired by her sons refusing to eat cooked fish and instead tried to make a new recipe.

 

“Maglor, go and see if we still have some eggs. Some flour and salt, and milk as well. I think I know how to help Elrond overcome that fear.” 

 

At first Maglor was confused, then he realized which memory his brother must have gotten and hurried to get the necessary ingredients for the dish. 

  
  


That evening, as they arrived to the dinner table, Elrond and Elros was met with the smell of boiled potatoes, green peas and melted butter. But their attention was drawn to the central meal piece, a large pudding with slight pink colour. A salmon pudding, as Amon Ereb was in sight from the Gelion river and salmon were one of the most common fishes in the waters. 

 

“Evening, boys. I thought that due to yesterday, we should try another dish with fish that have been deboned and made into minced fish meat. Do you think that you could test a pudding, Elrond?”  

 

They would not press him to eat, and having to choose himself would help him as well. It took some minutes of carefully searching through with his knife and fork out of habit, before Elrond dared to taste a tiny spoonful of the salmon pudding and then took some more. It seemed like they had gotten the right idea to help him stop fearing to get choked on a fish bone. 

 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

 

Many years later, Imladris: 

 

For outsiders, it would have been a big surprise to the Lord of Imladris himself stand in the kitchen and mix together a meal. Yet for the wanderer, who had came to the Hidden Valley yesterday, it was nothing strange. 

 

“Someone who dislikes fish just as yourself once did?” Maglor asked, looking more like his old self now when he had gotten a warm bath and some better clothes to wear during his visit. 

 

“Estel does not like fish, despite everything we have tried to so far, so I thought that I could use that salmon pudding you and Maedhros used to help me.”

 

It was not that surprising, really, little Estel was only three years old yet stubborn as Elros once had been in childhood. For Elrond, Estel brought up a lot of early childhood memories from Sirion. 

 

“Let's hope that he will not protest too much about vegetables as well.” 

 

Oh that was no worry, Estel loved peas and carrots, they just needed to get him to eat more of other vegetables too. The toddler had a very good appetite, unlike a few of his ancestors who had been fostered by Elrond in the past. He could tell a lot of tales about them for Estel when he was older.

 

“I think Estel will be happy to meet you, Maglor, I am sure that he will love to hear some old tales from the First Age, if there is any that will not give him nightmares, of course.” 

 

Maglor smiled.

 

“Oh, I think the tale of my cousin Finrod finding the First Men would be a good one as a bedtime story. And a story about a Elven prince who married a common lady with hair of the same colour as fire, instead of a noble bride.”

 


End file.
